The blackball returns to the Wedge

May 1, 2014

Updated May 2, 2014 3:07 p.m.

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A bodysurfer rides the waves on Thursday at the Wedge in Newport Beach. Blackball hours commenced Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. When an area has a blackball flag displayed, boards are restricted from certain areas. MARK RIGHTMIRE, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Skimboarders stand on the beach before 10 a.m. Thursday at the Wedge in Newport Beach. "Blackball" hours began Thursday, during which boards and floatation devices are not allowed in certain areas. MARK RIGHTMIRE, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Newport Beach Lifeguard Mark Herman informs people in the water at the Wedge in Newport Beach on Thursday morning that only bodysurfing is allowed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. "Blackball" hours began Thursday as bodysurfers took to the water shortly to ride the waves. MARK RIGHTMIRE, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A sea lion rides the waves along with other bodysurfers after 10 a.m. Thursday at the Wedge in Newport Beach. Blackball hours, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., when boarders have to stay out of the water in certain areas, began Thursday. Bodysurfers took to the water shortly after 10 a.m. to ride the waves. MARK RIGHTMIRE, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A bodysurfer rides the waves on Thursday at the Wedge in Newport Beach. Blackball hours commenced Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. When an area has a blackball flag displayed, boards are restricted from certain areas. MARK RIGHTMIRE, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bodysurfers came to the Wedge Thursday morning to celebrate: Blackball season is officially open.

It marked the official first day of blackball at the Wedge, and the first enforcement of blackball along the coast, with bodysurfers staking claim to the famed spot with a gathering put on by the Wedge Preservation Society.

The group of about 30 bodysurfers hoped to kick off the summer season with a fresh start, moving past the drama arising last year from the debate on whether the blackball rules at this sacred spot are fair.

When an area has a blackball flag displayed, that means boards are restricted from certain areas. Most other areas that have blackball rules start when the crowds show up around Memorial Day and end around Labor Day. The Wedge blackball stays up until Oct. 31 and goes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lifeguards enforce blackball rules so boards don’t collide with the crowds that flock to the water during busy summer months. But boarders get irked having to give up waves; bodysurfers and swimmers love it because it gets boards out of their way.

Conflicts arose again last year when Newport Beach officials asked lifeguards to investigate whether blackball regulations were up to date, and a debate that started in West Newport jetties quickly got heated at the Wedge, where bodysurfers, bodyboarders, surfers and skimboarders all wanted more time at the popular surf break.

In February, the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Department decided more study was needed, and voted against taking any action. But the discussion turned groups that enjoy the Wedge against each other.

“It’s bad karma, bad vibes, and you hate seeing that on the beach,” said Mel Thoman, president of the Wedge Preservation Society.

The Wedge Preservation Society put on T-shirts and hosted a beach cleanup Thursday morning to mark the day.

“Everybody is invited to be part of this; it doesn’t matter what you ride,” Thoman said. “We have to reassess and refocus our energies; it helps the area and our cause, and helps bring people together.”

The original Wedge Preservation Society started in 1993 when a group of bodysurfers first fought for the blackball at the Wedge. At the time, there was an explosion of bodyboarders, and tensions were running high.

The rules that were passed in 1993 continue to work today, Thoman said.

“We like how it is now; it seems to be working,” he said. “Our argument is – at the Wedge, there’s nothing broke, so why try to fix it?”

Bodysurfer Marty Henke said he was glad to see the group getting together again. He walked around in his wetsuit between bodysurfing sessions to pick up trash on the sand.

“We’re kind of coming back around to what it was about to begin with. We have a young group of guys now all stoked on bodysurfing,” he said.

Skimboarder George Bryan, who has been coming to the Wedge for 25 years, wasn’t bothered by the approaching blackball Thursday morning, as he got his last rides in.

“I’m long past fighting over things. I have to enjoy life and just try to keep an eye on who is out here and give them waves if they are waiting around,” he said. “There are plenty of waves for everybody.”

Bodyboarder Carter Horwitz, 20, got out of the water with his bodyboard after a lifeguard on his loudspeaker reminded the few board riders in the water that blackball was starting at 10 a.m. He didn’t know it was the start of the blackball season and decided to go back in to bodysurf.

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